The uses of PRESTIK!

In Grade 5, I was asked by Mrs Harris in English class to give an unprepared speech on "the uses of Prestik". I was stunned and all I could think of, for a "use of Prestik"was to stick my cool posters of Spice Girls up on my wall. I ooed and ahhed outside for my 5 minutes of preparation and sheepishly came into the class again to present this awful topic. I thought-well, I'll just give them a dashing smile at the end and all will be fine. Unfortunately, my 30second presentation did not suffice and evidently the smile was full of cheese, as she was rather unimpressed at my efforts.

But now-oh-now! Give me that topic again Mrs Harris-I'll show you! Haha. I think the life of a teacher and prestik are inextricably linked. However, I never realised as much until I came to Korea. The reason being that Korea does not really use prestik or Blu tac as it is called here. Nice magnetic things, cellotape and thumbtacs are sticky goodies of choice. I actually thought they did not have it fullstop. But my lovely friend JO Weakley showed it to me in the GS-Mart and I grabbed it with glee. R45 later and prestik with each strip in a different colour- I was thrilled!! It clearly has been useful as I have managed to use it up entirely this week.

Posters around the class, making eyes for monsters, sticking flashcards on the board, securing a leak in my basin, holding together notes of my Korean and much more!

YAY!!! The small man-made joys in life!

This weekend I am off to Mudfest! I cannot wait-I have no idea what to expect other than being covered in mud. I have bought 2 cheap t-shirts down at Myeong-dong so that I can throw them out if needs be after the weekend!

Here's to getting MUDDY!!!

Bisous

JO

Wow- it has been the most insane past 2 days! Sleep is not a neccesity I promise!

Today, I am not sleep deprived! Monday and Tuesday were rather crazy and here is why!Monday (am): I basically welcomed the sun into my house on Monday morning as the final of the World Cup drew to a close. My friend Steve convinced me to watch it and came over at 3am to watch. I only managed to get 2 hours sleep before that and so my day of school at Monday was disastorous. I wafted through the day and felt nauseous with exhaustion. My friend Bryan had wanted me to practice my camera shooting and so I had promised him I would take a walk home after school to take some shots. I decided too though that this week I would be good about going to gym and so despite my state, I went anyway in the hope that I would get to bed by 8pm. As I was making myself comfy my friend Ashley called to say she had been in a car accident and the car had road over her leg while on the bike. Goodness! I rushed to ehr place to get her necessary documentation while Bryan and a really lovely Korean- American Sam calmed her down at the hosiptal emergency wing. No broken bones but a really bad cut in a not so nice place. A few stitches later, while I held her hand I was amazed at her bravery-I woudl have been a wreck. We decided it was best if I stayed at her place and so I did. Getting to sleep around 2am and waking up at 7am-eish! 7 hours in 2nights. Not ideal! However, I was very impressed with the Korean Medical System once again and glad they took such good care of Ashley!

Tuesday: Making monsters in class. I was so exhausted I almost passed out at school. Luckily our lesson was fun and required little effort. I had collected a whole lot of trash for the past while and the students were delighted to get their creative minds ticking and fingers creating as Jung-in and I allowed them to go wild! Presentations using adjectives suhc as "scrawny", "gigantic" and " disgusting" was a requirement though. A LOT OF FUN WAS HAD BY ALL!

No sleep for the wicked yet though, I have decided I wanted to volunteer at an orphange whiel here in Korea and had manged to organise and co-ordinate the whole thing, so that I am teaching an 18 year old girl-Seung-Hee once a week from 7-8pm on Tuesday night. Her English is brilliant and it was such a treat to be able to converse with her! She understood most things! I was delighted! She wants to do Psychology of all things- and is writing an entrance exam in November for University next year-consisting of Korean, English and Social Studies. She is great! I am thrilled I am doing this! I thought I could milk the World Cup one last time and so I did- we had a debate about the vuvuzela.

Finally, at about 9pm on Tuesday night I could Sleep!!! YAY! I collapsed! 11 hours later I awoke for school-thank goodness it is my late day! :)

Bisous

JO

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

"When was the last time you did something for the first time?" has always struck me as quite a cool saying. It's simplistic, yet indeed challenges the idea of routine and normality in our everyday life. This weekend I experienced this feeling on several occasions: firstly I went to a trance party in Itaewon, I ate KFC at 5am as the sun was rising, I spoke to an American Soldier about his experiences in Iraq which were devastating, and I ate BACON and EGGS (not my first time-but it feels so long ago that I did- it could have very well been my first time!)

Seoul is always vibing! There is just something about this city that exudes excitement, a sense of bali-bali (hurry-hurry), something electric and ticking-perhaps even like a bomb! Yes, Seoul is like a time-bomb-any and ever second a bomb is about to explode-fresh ideas, new contracts, social meetings, getting noticed and noticing! Nothing waits in Seoul! And neither Kirsten and I!

I met her at about 8:30pm after making our way across the country to the capital! After a search in the guide book (thanks to my friends back home) we found a dindgy hotel with a perfect location. ie a few hundred metres from the Club Oxygen! We went back to our room (literally a bed and a metre walking space and shoddy shower) where we got dressed up for th evening! Haven't really done that since I got here so I was thrilled! on our way to the club we didnt want to get there too early-that would be uncool-Kirst assured me-so instead we stopped in a toyshop and bought tattoos! well-I did! Kirsten was horrified by my kitch selection of a black and silver scorpion! I on the other hand was delighted! With the help from the toyshop owner, water from my waterbottle and some toilet paper-I had made it- my life was complete with a horrendous fake tattoo. Nevertheless, I was asked by several characters in the evening if it was real! And with a gorgeous dashing fake smile, I could only answer: YES! :0)

The evening (and morning) itself was jolly interesting. In Cape Town, the trance scene ususlly involves a lot of hippies, danicng barefoot, in a field taking drugs and getting high, although this trance scene was very different: a sophisticated Club, a dress code of no sandals and no shorts and a smart attire, only very expensive alcoholic beverages -even the water cost R20 equivalent and there were no signs of drugs-only high heels and powder used to powder their noses. This was most amusing and probably most sad about the entire evening. The young ladies-in the springtime of their lives- looked miserable. Well, they looked stylish, mod and chic as if just taken out of a magazine, but they appeared to be awfully sad and miserable. Admiring their stick-thin silhouettes in the dark mirrors of the restroom displayed such a sad scene of obsessively beautifiul women that only knew self-worth from what their outer appearance portrayed. It was heart-wrenching to see how Korea is also a nation obsessed with "beauty".

In my pumps, my denim skirt and simple grey top-I decided not too judge anything-the people, the crowds and especially the MUSIC! Kirsten gave me god advice about just letting your hair down, closing your eyes and dancing like no-one is watching. Great tip- it obviously worked as at 4:30 only did I think ok I am getting tired now. My best part about it was the visual stimuli on the gigantic plsma screen behind the various dj's. The fluroscent and cycodelic images projected on the screen were entrancing and the lights were out of this world-especially the green beams all around the large room that created a cage-like effect over the dance floor. There were 2 strange characters who seemed to follow me around the whole night-one being a Swiss guy who was in Korea to learn English (HUH?) and a 28 year old Korean engineer by the name of Tan who was seriously persistent and tried to make me do the robot dance several times all night.

I was quite relieved to leave at 5am so I could get rid of them. We caught a taxi to Itaewon central and decided KFC would be a good plan! I have never particularly enjoyd KFC but somehow now was an exception! The funniest sight was an obese American women clearly not in any state to still be out, but shoving a KFC burger into her mouth as if it was the last food she would ever get in her life! :) Missioning back to our dindgy hotel room I was delighted to get back to my room where we slept the morning away!

At about 2pm we eventually awoke and decided we should make use of the day! A delicious stop in at this delightfully Western restaurant, allowed our stomachs to delight in things such as Turkey and Ham sandwiches! Such foreign delights do come at a cost and unfortunately the hole in my wallet seems to increase whenever I go to Seoul! Such is life! A few subway stop changes and we were at City Hall where we decided instead of going to a Museum as our inital plan we would ratehr go and sit by the river and observe the passers-by. What a good plan! :) I loved it. Even managed to soothe my weary feet in the cool river! :)

Later that afternoon, I met an American soldier who to be honest is the first one I have spoken to. Let me make it clear from the beginning : I do not see any point in war! I loathe it! I detest it and I think it is futile! And my encounter with him did not change that point at all. This guy is off to "Africa" and wanted to know what it was like there. He did not hold back and continued o describe his encounter in Iraq a few months ago where he saw his best friend being killed in front of him, he was blown up himself-had mangled fingers, a messed up leg and a plate in his jaw. Now if that wasnt bad enough he said his job is ratehr important as he has got to place missiles and big bombs. Despite his initial pride in telling me this it sooned turned to complete grief as he described how he had blown up a Middle School in Iraq (by mistake) and now lived with that everyday hanging over his head. He ends by saying, " Yes, I should probably get some help. I have medication, so i dont dream anymore, which is good. I think being 22 though it might mess me up for life". I stood in front of this boy-just the same age as me-with a DragonballZ tattoo on his leg- and was flabagasted. If there is any reason not to go to war, here is was standing in front of me. Sure i have watched war movies, and learnt the history, but nothing becomes quite so real, as when a soldier tells of his most personal interactions in the field. I thought about him for a long time afterwards.

A trip to Hongdae I was keen to try out my new camera and unfortunately had notnyet learnt about long exposure and hence my photos were a shambles. The night was fun and Kirst and I had an interesting chat about life our careers and families. We crashed early as our dancing feet were now tired feet and we needed rest.

After a lovely bacon and eggs breakfast at the American Diner, we both made our way home! Content with life and a weekend of new experiences I chilled out for the rest of Sunday, by playing some frisbee with the foreigners, doing some washing and catching up with emails.

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Bisous

JO

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

I am not sure if there is something in the beautiful summer air or a magical ray in the neon lights i walked passed tonight, but I am content.

I have and always will be a happy person I think. Sometimes it is just your temperament and I am lucky I have been blessed with this one. My happiness has somehow been doubted often in my life: I was suspected of taking happy pills at high school and some even thought I was high on cocaine in varsity and called me "Cocaine-JO" for a whole year without me realising it. I was even told at a counselling course after I spilled my deepest secrets, that I had no baggage and was mortified. I find it easy to pull myself together and shake things off if I am having a bad day, which I am grateful for, as I know people suffering from clinic illnesses do not have such good fortune.

I have always been mocked by having or sharing "silly" quotes like: "keep your face always towards the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you", or "carpe diem" or " learn from yesterday, dream of tomorrow but Live for today."or "Happiness is an attitude not a consequence". All of these I still truly believe, yet with a rejuvenated and contented approach to life in general.

As I walked home tonight from my friend Ashley's house, filled(actually stuffed) with pizza and coke, the fresh smell of the summer grass wafted around me. The neon lights cast a beautiful light for the men hurrying off on their scooters-probably home or to their second jobs. A man spits beside me as he clears his throat. A woman sits tentatively, yet half excitedly on a salon stool, as the hairdresser cuts away and chatters away about nonsense of boyfriends, work or the latest movie, I assume. An adjuma lovingly yet painstakingly stirs her broth in the backroom kitchen as the middle-aged couple wait agitated in the front of the restaurant for their Tang or Guk (soup) to arrive. I pass by a fluorescent coloured beauty shop and a family mart lures my attention with the startling signs, comical posters and jocker-blocked shelves resembling something like that of a funfair and not your local quick spar. I pass by the of the Wedding Shops with magnificent and kitch dresses taking a place perfectly in the centre of the window frames- frumpy, cake-like-layered ones, glitsy chic ones, slinky high neck dresses but sultry all the same, horrid lacy ones with frills that could make betty boop blush with embarrassment. I stop, stare, and study the immaculate detail of one's beading. I pass the "HOME"( my favourite Western restaurant) and wonder if the cool waiter- Key Moon- is there. His English is pretty good as he spent a month working in Dublin of all places. I wait- not agitatedly -but patiently at my five way intersection, for the green man to flash and I admire the Korean's obedience of laws.

Many good things have and are happening-yesterday I went on a picnic with my teachers to the most exquisite country side for lunch and a hike up to a temple. I sweated so much i was dripping. I decided on the weekend to buy myself a SLR camera-that cost half of my salary and has more gadgets and even more jargon than my entirety of my car back home. My friend Bryan has so kindly been my camera coach and I will soon be snapping away those national geographic masterpieces. I decided enough was enough and if I was ever to actually run a 10km race I would have to start somewhere and so I signed up at the gym and have been good about going. I have for the first time in my life actually enjoyed reading-which may be a surprise to most of you-but I am entranced with "Mao's last dancer" by Li Cunxin. Born a Chinese peasant, he tells his story of being a ballet dancer under Mao's communist society and eventually ending up in Houston America where is will, determination and passion for dancing turns him into a world-class dancer, despite the odds. I am enthralled by his honesty and humility and concern for his family's well-being and pride. He has just met his future wife-Mary (an Aussie) and I cannot seem to put it down. I do hope this inspires a love for reading! I too have just managed to finalise flights today for September over the Korean holiday "Chuseok" to see one of my best friends in the whole world-Lissy Lau- in the snazzy location of Japan darling! I am also busy at school as summer camp is round the corner and lessons need to have even more excitement, jam-packed with more English culture and filled to the brim with FUN! I am playing badminton still and even take part in Ultimate Frisbee even though I am officially the most useless player. I am officially broke now and will be eating rice and seaweed every night for the month-but oh seaweed is delightful!

Chen has recently left on his whirlwind adventure of Europe before he heads to Divinity School in September. I really thought I would be miserable when he left, as he taught me so much about appreciating life, truly living in the moment, being non-judgmental of people or customs, encouraging me to believe in a higher being-whatever i think that may be- and showed me what it means to experience all of life-even the not so great times. I do miss him, but am filled with a new sense of contentedness from learning and sharing from him. I really do think people come into your life for a special reason and I will always look back fondly on our time spent together. I do hope I will be able to see him someday again-it will make my heart very happy.

As for now, I am filled with a sense of LIFE! I feel like I have experienced some of it here in Korea- happiness, sadness, loneliness, confusion, ridicule, pride, obsession, nervousness, racism, praise, love, warmth, hostility, growth, paranoia, irritation, disappointment and joy. I am not sure why, but I am content with all of that. For a person accused often of glazing over the bad parts and only focusing on the good_ I can honestly say that has not been the case in the past four months here in Korea... Sure every now and then, but I have experienced LIFE-all of it! And by doing so I feel I have grown to know myself better, to understand and tolerate others better and to appreciate the world as it is-in all it's splendour and suffering-the many layers of this bizarre thing we call LIFE.

I remember my first taste of independence when I was 16 and went to France for summer school for 2 weeks under the supervision of a host of people staying in a boarding establishment. I even referred to myself as "miss independent"! HAHA! And here I am at age 22 living and teaching in Korea truly being independent of my family, friends and home- I can only laugh at my naivety of life back then. Now, I believe I could quite easily label myself as "miss independent" and I would not be a fool. Although, my "miss" of choice these days would most probably suit " miss contented" far better.

Jon- one of my best friends- sent me Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson- and the final line "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" caught my eye. It captures the very essence of my feeling at this moment. I guess that throughout life we continue to look back on our naivety and chuckle at our ignorance. Wisdom I think does not come with age but rather a life-long journey or quest for self-knowledge and meaning in what can be -so often- called a meaningless life.

Tomorrow I have school off as my students are off on a field trip, so I will read my book, take pictures, plan some lessons and LIVE!

Bisous

JO

xxx

Tomatoes, sugar and honey!

So, my Korean experience I would like to share today is the " Treats in the staffroom" phenomenon.Now, as a teacher-yes that is what I am in fact doing here- I get all the low-down on school matters when someone feels like translating, which is great. It does make me query though-what teachers used to say about my peers and I when I was a wee student at school. The best time to get in on the scoop is when the food comes out at about 4pm. From no-where teachers scurry into the staff-room and enjoy the delicious treats which one teacher has prepared.

I always get a "JO-AnnEE come join us" or "come eat". And I am always more than glad to partake in this ritual. Firstly, I love watching the expressions of different teachers and the unspoken body language between those that are clearly close and those that are just work colleagues. And secondly, the treats are always fascinating! I have had cherries, Korean grapes where you spit out the grape skin, Watermelon, Kimbap (sushi like stuff), Chelsey bun equivalent, bread-literally-plain bread, ice-cream lollies, DDUK (which is prob my least favourite thing-a rice cake that is tasteless as if you are eating pure DOUGH), small chocolates, and today I was spoiled with Tomatoes and wait for it-honey and sugar! Seriously?! I love eating freshly sliced tomatoes -but honey and sugar seemed a bit much really. I politely had 3 slices and then took a step back.

This kind of sharing is such a Korean and stems I am sure from the Confucian model. The one thing about it is- you have to partake and is probably why I have managed to put on the pounds. For this reason, I think it is apt that I joined the GYM today! Definitely not Virgin Active but has cool treadmills with mandatory flat screen tvs! :) After a quick jog, ki made my way to Korean class-which displayed my utter incompetence! Something I need to clearly work on! I am exhausted and now need sleep! PHEW!

Bisous

JO!

Now looking at that list